Any purchases made on this website may earn us a small commission, please click if you want to learn more.
Watches have a long and rich history with yachting, sailing, and general boating. In fact, it was the invention of the marine chronometer which allowed the rapid exploration and expansion of the world by the British navy. Without such inventions, it would be very difficult to find your position in the ocean or even keep time on a simple watch due to the waves of the ocean interfering with the movement.
In modern-day, the world of timekeeping is still heavily associated with marine technology and sports. The Japanese giant Citizen still makes 25% of its revenue from various industrial instruments which are sold to marine companies. This may not sound like a lot, but when you think about how many movements and watches they sell. You can begin to understand the scale of the maritime industry.
Of course, many water-based watches have come and gone over the years such as the Breitling Super Ocean, Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, Omega Seamaster, and of course the Rolex Yacht Master just to name a few.
In terms of sailing or yachting, these watches are generally more complicated than a standard dive watch. Whilst divers watches are built to an extremely high standard, all they really need is water pressure resistance. A watch for yachting requires at the very minimum, a countdown timer. That’s not to mention anything else you might find useful such as a barometer or a tide graph.
Thankfully in modern-day, many of these complications have been solved by advanced technology. Whilst there still are many luxury yachting watches, much of the work has switched to being done by digital and smartwatches. This is the same throughout the entire watch industry. Fashionable variations of nautical watches have sprung up on people’s wrists, whilst the heavy lifting is now done by computer-based watches.
Table of Contents
What Is A Yachting Watch?
A Yachting watch is a specific timekeeping device with at least one complication. Of course, a yachting watch can be worn in everyday life and not look out of place, but it does offer additional functionality.
The specific difference between a yachting watch and a standard watch is that they will all have a regatta countdown timer. This functions in a similar way to the chronograph but instead counts down from a selected time. After the timer has elapsed, the watch will alert you (by vibration or alarm).
Rolex Yachtmaster
As you can see by the name, a Rolex yachmaster is a sailing watch that can be worn for a regatta. However, the chances of this are very low, it would be similar to the chance of someone scuba diving with a seamaster or a submariner. Why wear a $20k watch for sports if you risk damaging it?
In modern-day, these kinds of luxury watches are simply used as fashion pieces. Whilst they do have the functionality to be used for boating. You are very unlikely to use a Rolex Yachtmaster in a race, simply because it costs a lot of money and you can get the same complications for a much cheaper price.
What Do Sailing Watches Do?
Sailing watches offer complications that normal watches don’t. These can be anything from timers, alarms, barometers, tide charts, and many more things. Depending on what functions you need, there will be a watch at that price point for you.
In general, if you’re after a lot of features such as weather monitoring, tide charts and timers, you are best off with a smart watch. Digital watches are generally much more rugged and reliable. But simply do not offer as many features as a smartwatch.
Are Sailing Watches Expensive?
On the whole, sailing watches are more expensive than regular watches. The primary reason for this is because they have more functions than a normal watch. If you’re wearing a watch in everyday life, you need it to tell the time and have some level of ruggedness and water resistance.
A watch for sailing on the other hand needs far more durability, far more water resistance, and also a countdown timer at the very minimum. These factors alone make a yachting watch more expensive.
With that being said, you’re still able to pick up some bargain-level sailing watches in the $100 region. However, most watches cost between $250-500 if they are solid mid-level pieces.
Is The Apple Watch Good For Sailing?
Provided you have useful apps installed, the Apple watch is good at almost everything. Whilst it would not be our #1 pick for the best sailing watch. The Apple smartwatch is a very versatile piece of equipment.
On its own, the Apple watch is a not-so-durable and visually appealing watch that is best for everyday life tasks. You’re able to take phone calls and pay for things very easily, as well as track fitness goals and do just about everything else that you will need.
In terms of yachting and general boating, there really are a lot of apps you can choose from which enhance your experience at sea.
Two recommended apps are the Race Master Sail Timer and the My Tide Times Pro. To single these two apps out. The Race master has just about everything you will need in terms of a regatta. Whereas the My Tide Times Pro app does exactly as it says, tells you tides at different times. Of course, the usefulness of these two apps should be quite obvious to anyone who spends time on the water.
In general, it’s probably best you play around with various apps and find which ones suit you the best. Different people have different needs based on what they like to do.
Check The Price Of Apple Watches On Amazon
How Do You Use A Yachting Watch?
Each watch varies. If you’re having trouble with a specific model it is best to ask the manufacturer to send you a PDF guide.
However, every yachting watch will have a countdown timer. This can be used by selecting the number of minutes you want to time and then starting the timer. If this is a digital or mechanical watch, it will often be done by pressing the pusher buttons on either side of the crown.
Once the time has elapsed an alarm will usually sound notifying you that the minutes you set have now expired.
What Is A Regatta Countdown Timer?
A regatta timer is simply a countdown timer used for yachting and sailing in general. Many watches not made for sailing use countdown timers but are used for everyday activities such as running or baking.
The difference between countdown timers and normal stopwatches are that with a timer, you are able to set a specific time and count down from it. With a traditional chronograph stopwatch, the timer will keep running until you stop it. Chronographs are a useful function but are not particularly useful for sailing.
The Best Watches For Yachting
Citizen Promaster Yachting Timer
Perhaps it is less well known than it should be. But Citizen is one of the best manufacturers for nautical watches. This is because aside from their watch business, the company also makes maritime equipment a lot more complicated than something you wear on your wrist.
The Promaster yachting timer is really visually appealing considering it is a legitimate yachting watch. It has 2 digital displays as well as an analog setting for the regular time. As soon as you’re ready, it is very easy to choose the “race mode” from the bottom subdial. During this setting, you’re able to easily program, format, and reset the countdown timer which is essential for serious racers.
One of the main benefits of this watch is that it’s an Eco-Drive. As it’s already a given you will be mostly using this watch outdoors, the suns natural light will easily be enough to power the watch. Therefore you will never have any concerns about the battery running low or needing replacement.
Tissot Sailing-Touch
The Tissot Sailing-Touch is a watch that has obviously been designed for boat sports. Around the bezel, you will see that there is a 10-minute countdown timer. Once in race mode, a chronograph timer will begin automatically so you don’t need to spend time setting this up during your race.
Other features include Tide and Compass functions which you may not use, but are certainly a useful addition and will be helpful at least once or twice. Overall, you can rely on Tissot to make a solid watch that won’t let you down. The watch is a little on the expensive side but is made in Switzerland by an established brand.
Optimum Time – Basic & Inexpensive
Optimum Time produces timers that are essential for sports such as yachting. Although not quite a watch, the Optimum Time timer, is suitable to wear around your wrist or can be extended to wear around your upper arm.
As you can guess, this is one of the cheapest yachting timer watches on the market. It doesn’t really do much other than survive water and countdown from a variety of preset times. If you are after something that does these things in a cheap and effective way, this is the best bang for your buck.
Apple Watch
As mentioned above, the Apple watch is as useful for sailing as you make it. How relevant the watch is going to depend on which apps you put on it. We’ve already identified Race Master Sail Timer & Tide Times Pro as being two standout apps which you will definitely need (or a variation of them).
Another positive with the Apple smartwatch is that it’s not just sailing you will use it for. It’s very likely that you will have seen people wearing Apple watches in day-to-day life that have no connection to yachting at all. This is because the watch is both stylish and useful for normal activities.
The small downside is that this watch is somewhat breakable compared to rugged yachting watches made by other brands such as Casio.
Casio Pro Trek PRG-270-1
Casio is renowned for making rugged watches. The ProTrek is from the tough solar range, meaning that it’s practically unbreakable, as well as being powered by natural light so there is no need for a battery.
In terms of sailing practicality, although the watch was designed for trekking, it can also be used easily for yachting. The reasons for this are that it is very solid, 100% waterproof, and has a countdown timer of up to 24 hours, which is more than enough for any kind of regatta use.
Other features include an altimeter, barometer, and compass. Of course, you won’t get any use out of the altimeter whilst sailing, but the other two functions may come in handy at some time. Overall, the ProTrek is great value for money and well worth every dollar spent.
Timex Ironman
Built for durability and fitness, the ironman is most famously worn by ex-navy seal Jocko Willink. This should give you some indicator about just how tough the watch is.
Other than its countdown timer, the watch is relatively unremarkable and simple. It gets the job done and is the budget version of a Casio G-Shock. There are not any extra features or fancy tide and weather graphs. It is however fantastically cheap and can be purchased for well under $50.
ClearStart (Ronstan)
The most versatile watch designed and built for yachting is the Clearstart. As a brand, this is not well known at all outside the world of sailing. This watch has not been made to be desirable or fashionable, but simply to get the job done.
Just about everything has been thought about when designing the Clearstart. The display is gigantic so you will have no trouble reading it on an extra choppy sea. Perhaps the best feature of the watch is the sync button which allows you to synchronize instantaneously with official race time. This is probably the best value-for-money digital yachting watch you will find anywhere on the internet.
Garmin Fenix 5x
Built for outdoor sports, the Fenix 5x is way tougher than your average smartwatch. It has been PVD coated and has a sapphire crystal display, meaning you will struggle to find any scratches on the face, even after physical use.
Once again, smartwatches are as useful as the apps you put on them. The Fenix will offer you some basic fitness features, GPS, and heart rate monitors, but these all offer limited use for yachting. Once you download some specific sailing apps, this watch comes into its own. You will then be able to combine the power of these specifically designed tools with the toughness of the Fenix 5x.
Timex Intelligent Quartz
Not specifically a yachting watch, the Timex Intelligent Quartz does not have a countdown timer. Therefore it cannot be recommended for yacht racing, but it is still good for racing in general. The watch is both durable and stylish and could easily be worn both on land or at sea.
Considering the watch looks like a fairly basic analog model, it does have a lot of features that you wouldn’t expect. It has a built-in compass, air and sea temperature gauge as well as a tide tracker. These are not functions you regularly see in such a watch.
